Special effect pile fabrics



5, 1961 G. E. HERRNSTADT 3,011,243

SPECIAL EFFECT PILE FABRICS Filed Dec. 25, 1957 s Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 1.

INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Dec. 5, 1961 G. E. HERRNSTADT 3,011,243

SPECIAL EFFECT PILE FABRICS Filed Dec. 23, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 6

I l 1 i i i 1 ll 39 40 M u '01" I 'llh I h E E 1 (m 1 W m Q I INVENTOR W8. /W'0L)6 BY M+M ATTORNEYS 1961 G. E. HERRNSTADT 3,011,243

SPECIAL EFFECT PILE FABRICS Filed Dec. 23, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. 7.

INVENTOR W 5. BY MZM ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,011,243 SPECIAL EFFECT PILE FABRICS Gerald E. Herrnstadt, Cornwall, N. Y., assignor to The Firth Carpet Company, Inc, New York, N .Y., a corporation of New York FiledDec. 23, 1957, Ser. No. 704,568 6 Claims. (Cl. 28-.-78)

This invention relates .to pile fabrics, such as are used in carpet and rugs, and it is more particularly concerned with pile fabrics having within the pile a yarn of a novel type construction.

This yarn is considered to be superior to many of the yarns presently employed in the carpet and rug industry. Fabrics embodying this yarn may be made on all known types of carpet making machinery. On some of them it can be used without special treatment and on other special treatment will have to be applied.

In the manufacture of carpet fairly smooth yarn is usually employed to obtain a pile fabric ofevenconstruction. In most cases such pile yarns have been of the type known as balanced yarns. In some cases where a better coverage is required with less yarn back-twisted yarns have been used, said back-twisted yarns creating a more spread out pile, especially when used in a cut pile, such as described in Underwood Patent Number 2,571,087, and-thereby providing better coverage. Yarns which are generally called hard twist yarns are also very popular in the manufacture of velvet carpetingand have been used widely in the past two decades of the carpet industry.

It is a primary object of this inventionto combine the advantages of a hard twist yarn and a back-twisted yarn into one and, thereby, achieve and effect in the pile fabricn :of the carpet and rug field that heretofore was impossib e.

It is another object of this invention to obtain a yarn which is equally advantageous for use in woven, knitted, or tufted carpets. I

A still further object of this invention resides in the provision of a yarn that, when used in the pile of carpets and rugs, will, in the fabric, give the appearance of being two different yarns contained although but one type yarn is used. i

It is very important in the ever increasing advances of the manufacture oftextiles and particularly'pile fabrics to discover ways and means ofobtaining new textures to satisfy the taste of thepublic today. Inthe past, textures have been obtained by means of colors more often than by means of style yarns and it is, therefore, another purpose of this development to facilitate the styling of pile fabrics and, especially, carpetsby virtue of using a distinctive type yarn as described herein.

3,611,243 Patented Dec, 5, 1961 For a better understanding'of the invention reference is made to the accompanying drawings illustrating apreferred embodiment in which: I

FIG. 1 is a side view of the singles yarn components of the composite yarn used in the pile of the new fabric. 7

FIG..2 is a plan view of a two-ply single yarn of this invention before it is treated.

FIG. 3 is a semi-diagrammatic View illustrating one manner of treating the yarn for certain operations.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view through an Axminster fabric in which a pile yarn of this invention is used.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged longitudinal view of a section of tufted loop pile fabric in which this invention is utilized.

FIG. 6 is a semi-diagrammatic plan view illustrating the interengagement of the novel pile yarn in a knitted loop pile fabric.

FIG. 7 is also a semi-diagrammatic view illustrating the interengagement of the novel pile yarn in a knitted cut pile fabric.

' The fabric constructions shown in FIGS. 4, 5, 6 and 7 have as a pile yarn a two-ply twisted yarn that is a basic part of this invention. This two-ply yarn preferably consists of a material made of wool or wool blend and the twist may be either 5 twist or Z twist, but it is to be piled in the same direction as the singles showns in FIG. 1

strands 11 and 12, respectively. It will be noted that 11 is shown as a thinner thread than 12. The difference lies in the fact that thread 11' has been given twice as much twist as thread 12 In the preferred form of the invention a yarn which runs betWeenlQO and 120 yards per ounce in the single is used. In this case strand 11 would preferably have about 6 turns of twist per inch and'l2 have about 3 turns per inch. The two are then twisted together with from 1 /2 to 2 /2 turns per inch in the same direction as that in which the singles 11 and 12 were twisted. The end result willbe the yarn as shown in FIG. 2, which curly and shows a thick and a thin strand of yarn in the twist.

When this yarn is applied to an Axrninster fabric, as shown in FIG. 4 wherein 22 is a central chain warp, 23 isthe upper chain warp, and '24 the lower chain warp and double weft shots 25, 2 6. and 27 show the double weft shots inserted in the three-cycle of three-shot Agrminster,

A the tuft 29 comes up and spreads on the face evenly but in In the past decade the carpet industry,which for years utilizedthefour basic weaves or qualities, namely, chenille, velvet, Wilton, and Axrninster, has expanded into O he fi d uch as the sea sfl p whie k ene known today as tufted carpeting, and more ecently has branched out into the field of knitting. It is therefore another object of this inventio'nfto provide a novelty yarn that may be used in the tufting and knitting fieldsof carpet making to make a distinctly novel texture of pleasant ject of this invention to supply a pile yarn for the floor covering industry that requires less yarn per square yard than. would ordinarily have to be .used, and still provide a very satisfactory end product.

curly fashion with the singles 11 and 12 appearing to be two different yarns inserted in a single tuft. n Ina tufted fabric as shown iniFlG. 5 the loops are :punched through burlap or other-type "of backing, an

end of said type of backing being indicated by a circular section marked 3%, with a pile loop 31, being formed by plying of the hard twisted yarn singles -11 and the lighter twisted singles 12. when such' plies of yarn 3 singles in tufted fabrics are cut the cut yarn pile ends-,1 open up similarly to the Axrninster weave yarn shown in i F16. 4.; The cut pile ends of the tuft inserted fabric will, however, give better coverage than an Ascrninster weave product since no weft shots are present to separate the legs of the cut pile tufts, asis the case in the Axminster fabric.

Knit pile fab-tics made with the two-ply twistedyarn of this invention are shown in FIG. 6with loop piles and v in FIG. 7 without piles. The formation or the knit constructionis in accordance with thatshown in my {1.8.

PatentNumber 2,718,132. V

FIG. 6 sh'ows in extremely large form how this novel type yarn reacts in 1a knitted pile i fabrici made according to said patent, wherein-rows of warp stitches 32, 33

"and 34 are shown. A' loop 35 is formed b-y -a'face yarn be tween the warp stitch rows 32 and 33and a loop 3 6 is formed by the face yarn between warp, stitch rows 33 and Y 34; 'Back wefts 39, 46 and 41 form the backing onto which theiloops' are superimposed and, in the following course,

3 loop 37 will be formed between stitch rows 3-2 and 33, and loop 38 will be formed like loop 36 between chain stitch rows 33 and 34. Again the pile yarn is shown as made of two single yarns 1'1 and 12.

In FIG. 7 there are again warp stitch lines 42, 43 and 44 and back wefts 49, 50 and 51. Here, however, the plied yarn end that formerly formed a loop is cut, and where the loop 35 in FIG. 6 was previously there are two opened up cut ends 46 and 47 between chain stitch warps 42 and 43. The tuft 46 is being held inby chain stitch line 42, and the tuft 47 is being held in by chain stitch line 43, extending into another tuft 48, also being held in by chain stitch line 43. As may be seen also in FIG. 7, the U formed in warp chain stitch line 42 and marked 50a extends in the two legs 49 and 46 which provide the final face yarn coverage.

All the fabrics shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 5, FIG. 6, and FIG. 7 contrary to fabrics, such as Wilton or velvet fabrics, require treatment of the yarn before it is used.

for the weaving, knitting, or tufting, respectively. The reason for this treatment is the fact that, contrary to velvet fabrics, for instance, where the yarn is being fed from beams, and those described with reference to the drawings, the yarn has to be fed from spools in the Axminster, and from creels in the knitting and the tufting. *If the yarn then curls and twists as is shown in FIG. 2, it will get tangled up andreduce the .speed of production considerably. It is for this reason that it is desirable to treat this yarnas shown in FIG. 3 before it is used in the Axminster weaving, tufting, or knitting processes. In order to set the twist in the yarns, they are preferably skein dyed in large quantities; After a yarn is so skein dyed, and thereby has had the twist set, it is reeled from a skein l5, and then, as the yarn 13 is led over an application roller 17 which is being dipped in the trough 16 filled with water. After that treatment, the yarn is led over tension rolls 18 and 19, respectively, and put onto a cheese 14 on a winding machine spindle 20.

The yarn has now been wet wound onto the cheese and there are a number of ways of drying the yarn before it is used in the weaving, tufting, or knitting processes. A preferred form is shown in FIG. 3 where reflector mounted infra-red bulb 241 dries the yarn as it comes onto the cheese and is wound thereon. Other methods, of course, can be used, such as drying the yarn in ovens, or by other means. This will temporarily make this curly yarn straight and permit it to be used in the various methods of making carpet in the same manner as a balanced yarn. In order to obtain the effect of the curly yarn in final fabric, the fabric should be steamed and dried during the finishing process which will permit the yarn to regain the original set twist which it had prior to the treatment shown in FIG. 3.

This treatment is not necessary, as mentioned above, when such yarn is used in a print of the velvet weave,

,or in any construction where the face yarn is put on beams prior to the weaving process. In'case of Wilton fabrics the usage of the novel yarn of this invention combined with balanced Wilton yarn can help in giving effects of carved, embossed or similar type fabrics.

So far, the disclosure has related primarily to the uses of such yarn when it is two-ply. However, it is not necessary to limit the uses to a two-ply yarn, because it has been used successfully with a three-ply yarn having one lightly twisted component and two hard twisted components, the light twisted component having 3 turns per inch, the hard twisted components having 7 turns per inch, and the ply having 1 /2 turns per inch. By the same token, the opposite is of course possible, namely, that two lightly twisted components, one combined with one hard twisted component, are then plied together in the same direction as a single component. The weight of the yarn in thevsingle component depends on the type fabric in which the novel yarn is to be used; and those skilled in the art would be able to judge the thickness of the yarn that would be satisfactory for the end product desired.

Although the special effect pile fabrics illustrated and described are based on utilization of woolen fiber yarn ends for the pile yarn, the invention is not limited to this example, since yarn embodying thermosetting plastic fibers, such as commercially available Vinyon, Acrilan, Orlon and other generally like fibers can be used in any one or all of the single components.

When the fabric is finally finished and being put through the finishing process, it is desirable that the fabric be sized with any of the known products for sizing, such as rubber, starch, or the like.

Thus it will be recognized by those skilled in this art that various modifications can be made in this invention without departing the principles of the disclosure and the scope of the claims.

Having thus disclosed my invention and the preferred manner of practicing the same, what I claim as novel and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a knitted pile fabric floor covering with a knitted back and pile face yarn comprising a pair of single component yarn twisted together with each single component twisted in the same direction as the other single component, and one of the single components having less twist than the other component, said two components being twisted together with less turns of twist than the said other single component in the same direction of the twist of the said two components.

2. A knitted pile fabric floor covering comprising a flatly knitted base formed by wefts extending individually back and forth laterally over a plurality of chain stitch warps in successive courses and having superimposed thereon pile face yarns forming raised tufts between adjacent chain stitch warps, said raised tufts appearing between different pairs of chain stitch warps in successive courses for a number of times, with each pile face yarn extending in a given number of courses across a larger number of said chain stitch warps than the individual wefts of the flatly knitted base and being bound by no more than two chain stitches within the same course and a pile yarn comprising a yarn of wool fibres, said yarn having a number of single components, at least one of said single components having an S twist of no more than 3 turns per inch and at least another single component having an S twist of more than 3 turns per inch, said single components being plied together with an S twist with no more than 3 turns per inch in the ply.

3. In a pile fabric as outlined in claim 2 wherein the twist of the pile yarn is a Z twist.

a 4. In a pile fabric as outlined in claim 2 wherein the pile yarn is of wool.

5. In a pile fabric as outlined in claim 2 Where the pile yarn is of wool blend.

6. A knitted pile fabric floor covering'having warp stitches and backing wefts and special pile loops, said loops being of a yarn comprising .a plurality of single components twisted in the same direction with at least one of the components having fewer t.p.i. than the remainder, all of said components being twisted together in the same direction as the twist of each component to form a plied yarn.

Bloch et a1 July 19, 1955 

